We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gabriella Scaringe . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gabriella below.
Gabriella , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?
One of the core values of my brand is to always prioritize my customers and their needs. My product is meant to make the customer feel amazing about themselves. So, when a customer shared with me that her order worth $300 was lost in the Florida hurricanes last year, I knew I had to take action to make it right.
When she reached out to me about her lost package, I replaced them immediately. But I didn’t want to stop there. It was devastating to see how her home and all of her belongings were totally damaged. So as a token of appreciation for her loyalty and understanding, I also sent her three pairs of underwear for free for Christmas.
The customer was overwhelmed with gratitude and wrote to me expressing how touched she was by the gesture. She felt seen and valued as a customer, and it further solidified her trust in my brand. It wasn’t just about the monetary value of the merchandise – it was about showing my customers that I care about them as individuals and that I’m willing to go above and beyond to make things right when they go wrong.
Without my customers, my business wouldn’t exist. They’re the lifeblood of my brand, and it’s essential that I show them how much I value and appreciate them. I make it a point to listen to customer feedback and incorporate it into my product development process. I want to ensure that my customers feel heard and that I’m constantly improving my offerings to meet their needs. Cherri at it’s core is about creating a meaningful and positive experience for the people who wear it.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
My name is Gabriella Scaringe and I’m the founder of Cherri, a vulva-positive underwear brand. Cherri began in 2019 when I graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology, but it wasn’t until 2021 when I discovered TikTok that Cherri was really born.
I began making videos talking about my insecurities “down there” and they reached millions of views. Suddenly, I realized that I wasn’t alone. I created a community of over half a million vulva owners who resonated with my message. They shared the same insecurity that no one else but me was talking about in the body positivity space.
I did a survey of over 5,000 people and discovered that the average underwear gusset (the crotch part) is 1.8 inches in width, but the average vulva (the outer part of the female genitals) is 2.5 inches in width, which is too narrow to cover the average person’s meow meow!
So I created Cherri! I design vulva friendly intimates with width where you need it so you can say goodbye to lip slips and hello to comfy undies. All Cherri undies are made with gussets at least 2.5 inches in width, soft Supima cotton, and certified organic dyes.
I’m offering a friendly face-to-face approach to the intersection of wellness and fashion by making the uncomfortable comfortable again. My mission is to create comfort within every body at every moment. Let’s open up a conversation about our bodies – even the most intimate areas!
With each purchase, I also donate underwear and hygiene products to shelters in the USA. Vulva wellness should be accessible to everyone.
I’m most proud of the impact Cherri has made on the lives of thousands of people. I get countless messages daily from people expressing how much I have positively impacted their self esteem. Multiple people have told me that before Cherri, they were on their way to get a labiaplasty (which is a surgical procedure that cuts off parts of your labia to make it appear smaller). People opt for this procedure because beauty standards show us that our labia are not supposed to “hang out”. If people have larger labia, they also find it hard to fit into clothing like underwear, bathingsuits, leggings, etc. People have shared that after trying Cherri, they cancelled their labiaplasty appointments. They realized that their bodies were never the issue and that they just needed to find the right clothing to fit them. It is really powerful to me that because of Cherri, people are choosing body acceptance over body alteration.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Social media has been a game-changer for my business. Cherri’s success through promoting on TikTok was unexpected and happened almost overnight. My initial success on social media was due to a video that went viral where I was talking about some insecurities I had “down there”. I quickly gained a following of people who shared this same insecurity that no one else was talking about. I continued to share stories and experiences that people were relating to and encouraged them to embrace their bodies. People trusted me and therefore trusted my brand.
One of the most important things I learned is to to connect with your customers on a deeper level beyond just promoting your product. It’s important to understand the pain points that your customers face and create content that speaks to their needs and desires. You want your product to make them identify as the person who doesn’t have that problem anymore.
My advice for those just starting to build their social media presence is to be consistent with your content, engage with your audience, and focus on creating content that speaks to their problems in relatable and genuine way. Let the value your product brings outshine the attributes it has. Focus on creating a community, not just promoting your product. Engage with your followers, respond to their comments, and share content that resonates with them. Find the pain points that your customers are experiencing and create content that addresses those issues. Be authentic, and don’t be afraid to show the human side of your brand.
And remember: my social media success was and continues to be not linear. There will be ups and downs as algorithms change.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Part of being a successful entrepreneur is being able to roll with the punches. And sometimes, it feels like you’re the punching bag at a boxing gym. I faced a significant setback early on in my journey. I lost about $20,000 worth of merchandise in the first run of my product because there was a latent defect in the fabric that affected the quality and fit of the product. Essentially, the product was way too small and the fabric began to unravel after the first wear.
Despite the setback, I refused to give up. Instead, I pivoted and looked for more reliable manufacturing partners to ensure that the next run of our product would fit better and not fall apart. But manufacturing is messy and even the second go wasn’t perfect. It was a bit of trial and error, but I was able to recognize processes that wouldn’t suit my needs and avoid them with future manufacturing partners. I also continued to ask my customers for feedback. This allowed me to create a product that was not only high-quality but also tailored to the needs of my customers. And yup, manufacturing still goes wrong all the time: things run small, things run big, things run late etc.
But I’m so glad I didn’t give up the first time things went wrong because hearing how my product has changed people’s lives makes it so worth it. It was a tough lesson to learn, but through resilience and determination, I was able to produce a product that I am so proud of and that makes my customers love themselves.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shopcherri.com
- Instagram: @shopcherri
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriella-scaringe-266239123/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@glamorousgaby1
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gabygabss
Image Credits
Photographer credits: Profile Photo: Brigid Crispi Girl in nude thong: Krystena Patton Other product photos on models: Stephanie Price